British Minister likens Anonymous to fascists and racists

Hacktivist cabal Anonymous has continued its attack on UK government websites in retaliation to the UK’s treatment of Julian Assange, this time hitting former Wales and Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter Hain.

Hain told the BBC he feels Anonymous' actions resemble those he experienced in the “anti-apartheid and anti-fascist struggles." The MP participated in South Africa's anti-apartheid movement in the 1970s. "I have had these attacks for 40 years, mostly from racists and fascists."

He added that Anonymous had got its targets wrong as he has been a supporter of Assange.

Hain used the attack to urge for cyber security, taking to Twitter where he wrote "after targeting of several sites in recent months latest incident is more evidence that UK needs to wake up to growing cyber security threat." Anonymous targeted the UK’s Ministry of Justice and the Home Office last week.

Meanwhile, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said that the standoff regarding Assange as an “unfortunate incident over, after a grave diplomatic error by the British in which they said they would enter our embassy."

Ecuadorian officials have been outraged at British government threats of trying to seize Assange should he stray from the Ecuadorian embassy where he has been camped for two months.

The Washington-based Organization of American States also condemned Britain's threat with South American foreign ministers claiming Britain's stance is unacceptable.

Correa told the UK’s Sunday Times that the sex crime allegations made against Assange would not be deemed a crime in Latin America. "The crimes that Assange is accused of, they would not be crimes in 90 to 95 per cent of the planet," he said.

He also played the Pinochet card, questioning the British government’s contradictory approach to extradition, when it did not extradite former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet after his 1998 arrest in London.

Pinochet was wanted on an international arrest warrant issued by Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, who is now featured on Assange's legal team.

"Britain supported Augusto Pinochet unconditionally. And they let him go, they didn't extradite him on humanitarian grounds, whereas they want to extradite Julian Assange for not using a condom, for the love of God,” Correa said. &reg